Patrick Spenner

My Stats

Contributor Since:

August 2011

Location:

Washington, D.C.

About Me

I am a managing director at CEB's Marketing & Communications Practice, and am fascinated by disruptive technologies in emerging markets and the micro-financing organizations that are reshaping traditional industries. This fascination is also one of the significant challenges I see facing CEB members and the business community at large: global expansion and leveraging emerging market investments. As the head of CEB's Marketing Leadership Council, my area of expertise include social media, marketing ROI, integrated marketing campaigns, agency management and customer loyalty. When not advising heads of the world’s largest marketing organizations, I spend time honing my ultimate Frisbee skills and my ability to identify all visible stars in the night sky. A native of Kansas City, Kan. and Omaha, Neb., I hold a bachelor's degree in economics from Georgetown University and a master’s of business administration from Stanford University. I live with my wife and children in the Washington, D.C. area.

Professional

My Current Project

Mapping the path and pitfalls for marketing leaders as they build out global marketing systems.

My Greatest Achievement

Balancing family (wife + 4 kids) with career, and a serious English Premier League habit. Serious.

My Biggest Regret

Not thinking of Facebook in 2003 (?)

I Truly Respect

Flying monkeys. The ones from Wizard of Oz. Anything that sticks in the recesses of your brain that well, you just have to respect.

Why Forbes

My Other Website

Personal

What I'm Currently Addicted To...

Changing diapers--we have young twins. Lots of diapers. Oh, and Game of Thrones. Almost done with book 5.

This Is Annoying Me...

How frequently business leaders throw around the term "customer-centric" these days, when the furthest their mental model allows them to go is to embed voice-of-customer in their existing structures and processes. That is still brand-centric, in my mind.

This Is Making Me Worry...

Developed economies are in year 4 of a Lost Decade (or possibly worse--see below) Sovereign debt sitting on big bank balance sheets...lurking there just as Option ARMs represented nearly 50% of all of WaMu's originations as early as 2005. Disaster is in the tea leaves.

This Is Bringing Me Joy...

The burbling, babbling, always different greeting I get from twin girls every morning from their cribs.

I'm Running From...

the middle-age spare tire. Or is it, running to keep the spare tire at bay?

This Is Making Me Think - Hard...

The Paradox of Standards--the notion that the best thing for business leaders to do is create rules and standards upstream, so that knowledge workers can have more freedom to create value downstream. It plays out in a big way as marketing leaders look to build and manage global marketing systems.